OPINION – Contemporary from his journey to Florida to cowl the Miami Grand Prix, F1 correspondent Daniel Moxon lays naked what he noticed.
We skilled a special perspective of the Miami Grand Prix this weekend (Picture: MSC)
Miami has a robust declare to be among the best host cities in System 1. It additionally, sadly, options one of many least inspiring circuits and one other vital downside when it comes to a few of the clientele it’s attracting. These are the conclusions that I drew after attending this 12 months’s occasion.
It was my second 12 months in a row on the Miami Grand Prix. It was a visit that I regarded ahead to enormously, having actually loved my first journey to the Sunshine state. And, as was the case on my 2025 go to, spending a protracted weekend within the lush, various Floridian metropolis was an actual pleasure.
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What a disgrace, then, that the on-track product fails to match the town and even the broader occasion round it. The organisers do an incredible job of placing on an outstanding present round Onerous Rock Stadium, placing on a swathe of actions that mirror Miami’s various cultural choices.
However this can be a spherical of the F1 World Championship – the race needs to be the primary occasion and, once more, it didn’t ship. Max Verstappen’s dramatic spin on lap one made for an edge-of-your-seat begin, whereas Charles Leclerc’s brush with the barrier which broken his Ferrari and noticed him freefall from podium rivalry to sixth – eighth after a post-race penalty – made for a nail-biting finale.
Take these two incidents out of the equation, nevertheless, and there was little to write down dwelling about on Sunday. There have been some good storylines, like Kimi Antonelli’s spectacular defence towards Lando Norris to win a 3rd race in a row, and Franco Colapinto changing his sturdy weekend into his finest F1 consequence thus far. However little different motion that obtained me even near the sting of my seat.
From what I noticed, although, even when we had some final lap of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP-level drama, it nonetheless would not have made a lot of an impression on a few of those that had been there. I’d have phrased the top of that final sentence: “Those that had been there to see it,” besides that I observed there have been loads in attendance who seemingly had no curiosity in any respect in what was taking place on observe.
Along with my common media duties, I took MSC Cruises up on their very variety provide to pattern their hospitality providing which is new for the 2026 version of the Miami race. So I took my laptop computer down there, the place you could possibly see the observe from turns 5 to 9, to get pleasure from getting a style of the followers’ expertise – to seek out {that a} worryingly giant quantity had been passing up the chance solely.
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A two-day go for the MSC Yacht Membership price wherever between £2,850 and £3,670 – roughly 10-times the final admission worth – and with nice views of the Stadium and circuit, nice meals and an open bar, it is the form of expertise die-hard motorsport followers would give something they might to expertise.
How disappointing it was to see so a lot of those that had been there observing their telephones, idly chatting inside or doing just about something apart from watching the race, both with their very own eyes on the observe and even through the numerous TVs dotted across the luxurious Yacht Membership. Lots of them, it appeared, had taken all their selfies and so noticed no additional use in an occasion they wished to be seen at greater than they wished to really see.
The Miami occasion has a lot potential and, with a contract to remain on the F1 calendar yearly till 2041, it is right here to remain whether or not you prefer it or not. However for all these years the ‘Miami Worldwide Autodrome’ will proceed to be a soulless racing venue for so long as there may be such apathy amongst a few of those that attend.
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